Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Jimmie Johnson Looking for Third All-Star Race Win

No one has been better than Johnson at Charlotte over the last 8 years
NOTES
Jimmie Johnson will drive a special No. 5 Lowe’s Chevrolet in this Saturday’s All-Star Race to promote 5% off every day or special financing on purchases over $299 on Lowe’s Home Improvement’s consumer credit card purchases.

RACE NOTES
Charlotte Motor Speedway – All-Star Events
• In nine All-Star Race starts, Johnson has collected six top-five finishes, including two victories (2003, 2006).

Chassis
• Johnson drove primary chassis No. 592 across the finish line third at Bristol Motor Speedway in March.
• Backup chassis No. 623 was driven to a 16th-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.

JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTES

YOU FOLLOW OTHER SPORTS AS WELL AS RACING. IN YOUR MIND, OTHER THAN THE MILLION DOLLARS TO WIN FIRST PRIZE, WHAT DIFFERENTIATES THE ALL-STAR EVENT IN NASCAR RACES FROM ALL-STAR EVENTS IN OTHER SPORTS?
“I’d have to say the mindset of our All-Star event is a lot different than others when you look at the Pro Bowl, you look at the baseball All-Star Game, basketball’s All-Star stuff. No one in our sport is really concerned about saving something or getting hurt, playing at 80%, whatever it may be. You hear that stuff all the time. You watch the Pro Bowl. The guys aren’t hitting like they normally do. Our series, the hits are actually probably worse, harder, stronger. The intensity and commitment for our All-Star event seems to be a lot higher than others. So that mindset is the difference to me. Not to take anything away from those athletes. I should then say we’re surrounded by a steel cage so it’s easier for us to dish some stuff out and take some hits.”

SPRINT CUP SERIES CAREER NOTES
Career Wins
• Johnson has 54 wins in his Sprint Cup Series career, his most recent coming at Talladega Superspeedway on April 17, 2011.
• The El Cajon, Calif.-native is currently 10th on NASCAR’s all-time wins list, one victory behind Lee Petty.
• He is second in total wins among active drivers, behind Jeff Gordon (82).
• Johnson needed only 296 starts to hit the 50 mark. Only three drivers have reached 50 victories quicker – Gordon (232), Darrell Waltrip (278) and David Pearson (293).
• Johnson has won at least three Cup races a season since he posted his first victory in 2002. He is the only driver in the modern era to win at least three races in each of his first eight full-time seasons.
• Johnson has won Sprint Cup Series races at all but four (Michigan, Chicago, Watkins Glen, Homestead) of the 22 tracks on which the series competes.
• Johnson’s 10 wins in 2007 was the highest number recorded in a single season since Jeff Gordon posted 13 victories in 1998.
• The four-consecutive wins scored by the No. 48 team in the 2007 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup ties a modern-era NASCAR record.

Career Poles
• Johnson has collected 25 poles in his Sprint Cup career.
• The championship driver has earned at least one pole a year since his first full-time season in 2002.
• He had a career-high six poles in 2008.
• Johnson’s most recent pole position was at Dover International Speedway on Sept. 24, 2010.

Career Starts
• Johnson has finished in the top five in the Sprint Cup Series point standings each year since his first full season in 2002.
• Johnson is the only driver to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup every year since the format was adopted in 2004.
• In 337 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 138 top-five and 210 top-10 finishes.
• He has a top-five finish at every track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit.
• Johnson has led a total of 11,469 laps (of 97,888) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 130,578 miles.
• He has finished on the lead lap 263 times.



- GMR Live Marketing for Team Lowe’s Racing, Press Release

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